9 Ways Rockstar Could Easily Ruin GTA VI

4. Characters Nobody Wants To Play As

To truly do the GTA formula right, you need a character that approaches the world of crime from the outset, has some ancillary goal they must accomplish (wealth, reputation or whatever), and gets dragged further and further down the rabbit hole in the process. You work your way up the criminal food chain, eliminating reputable leaders and claiming territories along the way. Claude, Tommy Vercetti and CJ all had varying degrees of criminal intent in them from the beginning, but it was the contrast of where you began and ended, that made them work. Just think to CJ's Las Venturas bank heist, the juxtaposition to his ghettoised origins to the super-shiny casinos and drippings of wealth - it was truly something.

For GTA V, Michael was a hot-headed father, Trevor a total psychopath and Franklin- well, Franklin was the nearest we had to a relatable figure, but like Niko and John Marston, was far too up for indulging in criminal behaviour despite protesting it in cutscenes. Rockstar seemed to have lost the ability to write someone that has qualities you want to see through to the end. Did you really care that Michael was in witness protection, that Trevor harboured a grudge or that Franklin wanted to better his peers?

Characters that are just as dark and depraved as the world itself doesn't represent the audience. We need someone to be the stick we're prodding GTA with, someone to yell "What the f**k?!" when things go sideways - even if they're a mute, blank slate, we need someone that represents us as the outsider, especially at the beginning of every story.